Letter to the editor 10/02/14

There is nothing quite like the sweet aroma of cancer when you step out of your dorm in the morning. That’s right, cigarettes cause cancer. Yet, it seems that many students here at John Carroll University are ignorant of this fact. Therefore, I would like to make a proposal that should have been implemented a long time ago: John Carroll should go completely smoke-free.

This issue has previously been brought to the attention of our student union. Unfortunately, for those of us who value the health of our lungs, Student Union quickly dismissed the proposal because we may “offend” students who smoke. I think what is more offensive than telling someone they cannot smoke is forcing someone to breathe in the carcinogens that have already entered into your lungs and are blown out back into ours. Whether or not cancer is the result of such second-hand smoke, the stench that lingers in the air is offensive, nonetheless.

John Carroll has a beautiful campus with many aesthetically pleasing sites, but a group of people smoking just “50 feet away from the entrance of a building” does not add to our community. Many colleges are now going completely tobacco free. Even Cleveland State University, which is right downtown, has signs up stating they will soon be tobacco free. I am not asking for John Carroll to go tobacco free. I am simply asking that the school go smoke free. I understand some people just love their tobacco fix here. Let them have it. But the difference between having smokeless tobacco and a cigarette is that we, the vast majority of the student body, do not have the option as to whether or not we consume smoke. Therefore, I urge you all to speak up and demand for John Carroll to quit smoking.

Editor’s Note: John Carroll University currently enforces a “Smoke-Free Campus Policy.” For details about what this means, visit jcu.edu.